1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electroluminescent (EL) device such as an organic EL display.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2004-228034 (document '034) and 2005-301020 (document '020) disclose techniques related to EL devices. The EL device disclosed in document '034 includes an element portion in which an anode (104), organic electroluminescent device pixels (102) and a cathode (105) are stacked, and ribs (103) on a substrate (101). A protective film (106) covers the element portion and the ribs (103).
In the EL device disclosed in document '020, a cathode (34) is provided on the upper surface of an organic EL layer (32), a projecting resin layer (26) and a barrier insulating layer (28) are provided on a side surface of the organic EL layer (32), and a protective film (31) is provided on the lower surface of the organic EL layer (32) with an anode (30) between the protective film (31) and the organic EL layer (32).
In the EL device disclosed in document '034, the organic electroluminescent device pixels (102) are covered with the anode (104), the cathode (105), and the protective film (106). However, according to this structure, in the outer periphery of the organic electroluminescent device pixels (102), if the cathode (105) is formed at a position shifted from a predetermined position, the cathode (105) may be in contact with the anode (104), thereby a short circuit may occur.
In the EL device disclosed in document '020, a short circuit between the positive electrode (30) and the cathode (34) is prevented by the presence of the barrier insulating layer (28). However, since the projecting resin layer (26), which relatively easily allows moisture and the like to pass, is provided between adjacent organic EL layers (32), the seal of the organic EL layer (32) in each pixels may not be sufficiently strong. More specifically, if the seal of any pixel is broken for some reason, moisture and the like may intrude into the organic EL layer (32) in the pixel whose seal has been broken.
The present invention has been conceived in order to solve the above problems. An object of the present invention is to satisfactorily maintain sealability of an organic layer.